Home Away From Home

More hotels are asking business travelers to come on in and stay
awhile. Both major hotel chains and companies that specialize in
extended-stay lodgings-hotels that cater to longer-term travelers
and typically charge by the week-have plans to establish more
extended-stay properties within the coming year.

"With the shortage of hotel rooms and cases where travelers
want to stay for two or three weeks, people in the industry believe
extended-stay lodgings are really in need," explains Robert
Nozar, editor-in-chief of Hotel & Motel Management
magazine.

Extended-stay lodgings have a lot to offer business travelers
who attend conferences, work on short-term projects or take lengthy
trips. For one, they're more affordable than pricey luxury
hotels. Unlike economy lodgings, they offer a kitchen complete with
refrigerator, microwave and dinnerware. Plus, with traditional
hotels cutting back on personal amenities these days, most also
have oversized towels, built-in hairdryers and other personal-care
items to their advantage, says Nozar.

A few hotels that are expanding in the extended-stay sector
include Extended Stay America and Choice Hotels, through its new
Mainstay Suites, which opened in October. Holiday Inn also expects
to make its entry into the extended-stay market by year-end.

Site Seeing

Business travelers are developing travel plans and even booking
reservations on the Internet because-let's face it-it can be
more convenient, personalized and sometimes even downright fun.
Following is a sampling of newly established travel sites on the
Web:

Check airline, car rental, hotel and rail rates and then book
reservations at the TravelQuest site (http://www.TravelQuest.com).
International travelers can also find currency and exchange rates,
passport requirements and up-to-the-minute weather advisories. To
check out meeting space availability nationwide, link to the
helmsbriscoe.com site by clicking on "meetings" from the
home page.

Visa Expo (http://www.visa.com) offers easy access
to lists and maps of Visa/Plus ATM locations worldwide. A special
mapping function provides U.S. travelers with a glimpse of the
three ATMs closest to their selected location.

Travelocity (http://www.travelocity.com) is a
must-stop site for business travelers. You can book reservations
from a mind-boggling choice of 31,800 hotels, 50 car rental
companies and more than 400 airlines. Then check out the latest
travel accessories in the Travel Merchandise section, enter
contests in the Minibar, or chat with travel experts in
Travelive.

Tips on packing, personal safety, fitness and more can be found
on The Executive Woman's Travel Network

(http://www.delta-air.com/womenexecs).
You can share valuable travel experiences with other female
business travelers in the Travel Forum. In addition, you'll
find special offers from Delta Air Lines on ticket upgrades,
companion fares and car rental discounts.

Take one step into the Travel and Transport's virtual travel
office (http://www.tandt.com),
and you can book all your airline, car rental and hotel
reservations in one shot.

Road warriors making late-breaking decisions about where to stay
will appreciate Hotel and Travel Index Online (http://www.traveler.net/htio/).
This source lets users search for specific hotels or search by a
particular region. The site also includes information on current
specials such as reduced room rates, free upgrades and more.

If you're in a hurry, get your airline tickets delivered
within two days by making reservations and paying with a credit
card at Preview Travel's Reservations.com site (http://www.reservations.com).
Details on airline fares and schedules are the main attraction
here.

Low And Behold

You only had to witness the fare wars that occurred when
Southwest Airlines announced a sale on tickets last summer to
realize how much clout the low-fare airlines have. And Terry
Trippler, editor and publisher of The Airfare Report,
predicts that in the near future, low-fare airlines offering
flights with inexpensive fares and limited service will become even
stronger in the domestic market.

Expect more air carriers like Southwest, Western Pacific,
Frontier and Reno Air to increase their flights into existing
markets and to move into new regions traditionally served by major
airlines, says Trippler. Most of the significant growth will be on
the East Coast, where markets are ripe for the picking. Few of the
low-fare airlines have yet to penetrate these areas-and frequent
fliers are demanding their service.

Low-fare airlines will continue to grow because of the
innovations they've introduced that save travelers money. These
carriers were the first to implement ticketless travel and Internet
bookings, which meant they could lower their ticket prices even
further, says Trippler. To drive up sales, several low-fare
airlines will also establish companion fares and gimmicks where
travelers receive free tickets after purchasing a certain number of
them.

Trippler believes recent concerns over the safety of low-fare
airlines won't hinder their growth much. Says Trippler,
"Consumers just have to be rational about this and use their
best judgment."

At press time, low-fare carrier Kiwi Airlines announced a
chapter 11 reorganization, calling into question these
airlines' financial stability. At the moment this case seems to
be the exception, though it's worth doing a little extra
research to make sure the low-cost airline you choose is on firm
ground.

Up, Up And Away

If extensive business travel is in your future, so are higher
costs. Prices are expected to rise an average of nearly 5 percent
in 1997. Rates for lodging will jump 7.5 percent; for air travel
and ground transportation, 4 percent; and for meals, 5 percent. But
it's car rental rates that will experience the largest hike-a
whopping 8.5 percent.

But don't despair: By the end of 1997, new competition in
travel services-including automated reservations through the
Internet and ticketless air travel-should bring overall costs
down.

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